The Forest

by Riccardo Bozzi, Violeta Lópiz (Illustrator), Valerio Vidali (Illustrator)

A lyrical book about the adventure of life, The Forest is also a magnificent visual work, both painterly and a technical feat of paper engineering. Here, sensory experience and the textures of the material world are rendered through die-cuts, embossing, cutouts, and a single gatefold. A beautifully considered work.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nature, Art, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Adventure

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Riccardo Bozzi is a journalist and has worked for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera since 1990. He is the author of The World Belongs to You, illustrated by Olimpia Zagnoli (Templar/Candlewick, 2013), and Cher auteur, illustrated by Giancarlo Ascari and Pia Valentinis (Hélium, 2016).

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely children's book about what you can find while exploring in a forest. The illustrations are beautiful and the text is spirited and philosophical. Highly recommended.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It resonated a lot with me on both a thematic level and also as a piece of artwork. The book tells a story of a group of adventurers traveling through the forest, using the forest and the people and things met therein as a metaphor for things people will encounter in their lives as they age. The pages of the book alternate between gorgeous, textured two page spreads of a lush forest, and blank white pages where an aging face can be seen on raised paper. Though this book is aimed more for adults (who are likely to understand the philosophical implications of it better than a child), it is a suitable, emotional, and lovely book to read to children as well.

[Ellie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forest presents a very different reading experience, physically and visually this is an innovative book which works to immerse the reader in the mystery of passing through the great unexplored. There is plenty to be thinking about with each turning page, particularly in terms of understanding that there is something greater beyond our own lives. Humans peek through the mass of undergrowth and trees as white silhouettes, showing that, really, we are just a flicker or a passing moment in the arms of nature. In this story, it is clear to me that it will always be humans that are physically and emotionally transformed through their time spent in the forest, rather than the forest being changed by the presence of humans. The is a certain energy tied to the forest which feels timeless and unchangeable, and lends itself to a lot of questions about how our overall relationship with nature (if the forest is seen to be representative of this) has possibly deteriorated.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is astonishingly beautiful. The color pages are so gorgeous and the embossed pages are so tactile and exciting. The content is definitely for an older kiddo and would definitely be best read on a lap with one-to-one adult interaction. There is a LOT to talk about though: the feel of the pages, all the things happening in the illustrations, and, of course, the meaning of life or whatever. Worth reading for the exceptional illustrations alone.

[Utti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le metafore sono uno strumento con una forza dirompente che apre le porte dell'immaginazione. Immagini, intagli nella carta e metafore per un libro perfetto.
Qui dentro c'è tutto e di più. Uno splendido regalo.

[Hannah]

THE FOREST is likely the most beautiful picture book I have ever read, and definitely the most inventive. From saplings to deep wilds to arid mountains, readers journey through the metaphorical forest of life as explorers. Lópiz and Vidali envelop readers in a lush wildwood, using negative space and embossed textures to reveal explorers making their way through the forest. A combination of die-cuts and gatefolds add a navigational element to the story. Truly a treasure of a book.

[Maureen Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was about one thing...turned out to be about another, so I had to re-read it. It was a nice surprise. Somehow from this simple idea, I did yearn for more - maybe the illustrations were lacking for me, or I wish the writing had been more concise. I believe this was a translated work, so I have a feeling something got lost in the translation. Still excellent.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kind of an uncategorizable book. It initially feels like a children's picture book in its simplicity, but the allegory is pretty deep -- it depicts life and aging as a journey through a forest from which there is no return.

I really liked it, but I had such a hard time figuring out where to put it in my library! I finally settled on putting it with the adult graphic novels.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a beautifully illustrated and unusual book. I wish I had a grandchild handy to read it with me. I think they might have gotten more out of it than I did. Glad I checked it out--I would give it a 3 and one-half rating if I could

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the description for this book, initially published outside of the United States.

Hands down, it is the most singular reading experience of my life. As a librarian and lifelong lover of books, this is not a light statement and it will be a book I will return to again and again.

It utilizes the left and right brain with its powerful story and visuals, but the textural element added to every double-spread engages what every reader who prefers print to digital knows: touch. Feel. The connection and engagement made through one’s hands and eyes simply works on a visceral level with the idea of the Forest, which is a metaphor for exploring Life itself.

This isn’t just a book for children; it’s an exquisite piece of art for all ages. Due to its unique nature, it may be difficult to find in libraries so you may have to buy it yourself. Trust me, it is worth the price.

Highly recommended.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful. The way the pages are shaped, embossed, cut and illustrated is so poignant and was a delight to basically all my senses. I don't think kids will get as much out of the book as adults will, honestly, but they will probably still enjoy the changing textures and shapes.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful children’s book about the great unknown. The art work is stunning and innovative. I’m going to have a hard time giving this to the children I bought it for:)

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. Beautifully engineered and a beautiful story.

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather interesting book. There are blank all-white pages with raised textures showing the faces of the explorers, and then there are full-color illustrations with plants and wildlife. The explorers are shown amongst the greenery again as white silhouettes with raised paper textures. It's an interesting idea to never color or outline the explorers, past the textures. To me this leaves the identity of the explorers open-ended, where they could be anyone or everyone. The explorers change with time, while the illustrated forest is defined and eternal.

The text is simple, calming, and has a tone of whimsy. The text doesn't speculate or conjecture, but instead just states facts about the explorers and their journey through the forest. "Along the way, many explorers develop another curious habit: they take notes and carve them into stone or leave them rolled up in the hollows of trees." Accompanying this text there were raised textures of cave drawings, almost hidden alongside the illustration of the forest.

"In this part of the forest, the explorers usually realize they are not alone after all. And that they are surrounded by other travelers." Unless I missed one, there are two fold out pages. On the first one, the front page shows a raised texture of a face looking to the left. Turning the page shows a raised texture of a different face, looking to the right. Folding out the page reveals the faces together, now facing towards each other. Something about the set up of this scene made opening up that page feel really monumental. Since the faces are physical textures in the paper, you can "see" them from both the front and the back side of the page, so when you fold out the page, you are seeing the very same textures again. This sort of engagement with the physical paper is something you wouldn't be able to do with just illustrations, and I'm glad to see this property utilized.

The other fold out page has cut out circles, revealing planets and stars. Opening up the fold shows the rest of the night sky illustration. Using circles to look first at a small part of a bigger illustration is used throughout the book, often allowing us to look literally through the eyes of the explorers at a small area of a larger forest scene. One of the first pages reads, "It is said that the forest has a certain limit if you look straight ahead, but that the sides are boundless." We look through the holes in the pages first at a very small area, but then we turn the page and see the full illustration.

Overall this was a really interesting book. I always enjoy expanded metaphors like these, and I really liked how the text and the story worked with the physical aspects of the book. I didn't get the feeling that I was reading/interacting with some huge profound idea from this book, but I don't think that's necessarily the point. Like I said, the text is rather straightforward, reading like a guidebook or such. I think it's meant to just make the reader imagine and consider the idea of the forest being life, rather than to make a specific argument.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally like the design of this book, the combination of the simple, boldly colored forest and its creatures with the depiction of humans through embossing and paper cuts is interesting. I don't think every page needs to be double thick there are two pages that fold out (though I suspect that one of them is a mistake, and the result of damage to the copy I was reading), but that just made me second-guess all of the other pages and try to see if some of them also folded out. I don't like the style of the writing. I'm not really sure if it is just the translation, but something about the present tense construction grates at me. In the end it is just a fairly typical extended metaphor for human life. But really "metaphor" isn't the right term; the forest is described in such a way that it never feels like it has its own reality, but only like it is a symbol for describing something else; so maybe more of an allegory? Whatever the case, it is quite obnoxious to read.

[RosaDG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious book that takes us in a very original way into the intricacies and vicissitudes that can exist or happen in a place like this. Stamped with some original and curious illustrations.

Horrelako leku batean egon daitezkeen edo gerta daitezkeen korapilo eta gorabeherak modu oso original batean eramaten gaituen liburu bitxia. Ilustrazio original eta bitxi batzuekin zigilatua.

Un curioso libro que nos adentra de un modo muy original en los recovecos y vicisitudes que pueden existir o acontecer en un paraje como éste. Troquelado con unas originales y curiosas ilustraciones.

Un livre curieux qui nous emmène de manière très originale dans les méandres et les vicissitudes qui peuvent exister ou se produire dans un endroit comme celui-ci. Estampillé de quelques illustrations originales et curieuses.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four years in the making, is a 'picturebook' like nothing I have read before. In fact, it's more an interactive exploration of what it is to be human in book form than a picturebook. From its beautiful pull-away vellum jacket to its embossed white spreads that show humans from very young to very old, coupled with rich and a richly dense illustrated forest, Bozzi's minimal text offers us some deep questions about what it is to be human, alive, part of something bigger than ourselves. A book in need of some serious re-readings. Since Amazon and Goodreads don't seem to acknowledge translators and illustrators:

Illustrated by Violeta Lópiz and Valerio Vidali,
Translated from the Italian by Debbie Bibo.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up from a display in the children's department at my public library. The cover on my copy does not have a title. That intrigued me. It is also a thick soft cover picture book with thick (not board book) pages. As I began to read, I found the voice stocatto and then it felt like a PBS narration of the forest and people who enter it. That gave it a certain intrigue and interest against the background of the lovely watercolors and white die-cut images.

In my mind, I am thinking about what child I would read this story to. I am not sure except that I feel this is a book for older people. It takes you into the forest and Spoiler Alert:




at the end everyone dies. Then, a new forest grows up.

There is a great deal of beauty throughout of the forests and story about human life aging and our connections to others.

I look again and again and I see that this book is a story of a life, from childhood to old age and death. It is the birth and life of a forest. It is also a message that even when we are gone, the forest will continue to grow and expand. A reminder, that we humans may think we are in charge and control, but in truth, mortality will win and so too will the forest.

Some very philosophical thinking. I go back to wondering, who is the audience for this book? I don't see it as a children's picture book. This is for people who can process the story beyond the word, beyond the imagery. It could be a powerful book for an adult book discussion.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Lovely picture book! Nature is depicted in vivid, stylish designs, while humans are white voids given detail through embossing. This is utilized very effectively to depict aging and death, as first lines (and slices) in the paper add wrinkles; then the pages become smoother as the person fades away.

Half a star off because I'm not sure who the audience is supposed to be. The "plot" is a big, somewhat subtle metaphor for being born, growing up, and finally passing away to make room for new life. The words are minimal but the vocabulary is somewhat advanced. It's primarily driven by pictures but the art is also sophisticated -- more than a young child would appreciate for sure. I'm not sure an older child would appreciate the picture book style even if they were more receptive to the message. Is it a picture book for adults? Almost feels that way!

This adult was impressed, anyhow.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell for sure that this is a book beautifully, lovingly, and thoughtfully made. The tactile representations of human faces, hands and bodies are key players in this emotional narrative of exploring the verdant wilderness that is the forest. Barely perceptible. Our human presence. Yet tangibly felt. It calls forth something deep in our collective memory of the relationship between human and nonhuman, body and environment, movement and silence. The ending was perfect in that it shows the vanishing of something not quite there to begin with. Too often we see nature as the victim in our contemporary environmental discourse that we lose sight of how fleeting human life compared life of an ancient forest. Perhaps it shows the possibility that our of something as small as our human existence there can be something more, hope for the forest that will continue to thrive.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forest a collaborate book by Riccardo Bozzi, Violeta Lopiz, and Valerio Vidali, is not so much an actual "children's illustrated story" as it is a metaphorically poetic work of art in book form, better suited to adults. As a beautifully crafted object, the book itself is filled with lovely illustrations combined with plain white embossed pages, perforated with holes large enough to give the appreciator a glimpse forward to contents on a page in a future experience. About a third of the way through the text, it becomes clear that this eponymous forest is a mephor for life, and that the cyclical quality of life is artistically expressed in the crafting of the book. As with life, sometime before the end, you actually say about your experience, "Oh, wow!"

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations' mix of watercolor and embossing & cut-outs on heavy white paper effectively matches the text's mix of descriptions of a trip into a forest and a metaphor of birth, development, aging, and death - in that neither is fully effective even though they are both lyrical and beautiful.

The illustrations are hard to make out, even after you catch on to what you should be looking for, just as the text is hard to decipher even after you catch on that it's a double metaphor.

But the pictures are lovely.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a weird book, and not surprisingly, a translation. It is very beautiful, with vibrant pictures interspersed with designs of people pressed into the white pages and occasional fold outs. The poetry (not really a story) is all about explorers wandering through a mysterious forest, but by the end I realized that it was a metaphor for going through life and I had to immediately reread it with this new insight. Who is the audience for this? Will kids, with their very literal minds, get the allusion?

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is a lovely book about exploring the forest with beautiful illustrations and die-cut holes and embossed faces, it is apparently a metaphor for aging. Honestly, I did not notice that the faces, which age, are supposed to be the younger people (person) pictured at the beginning.
Some pages are oddly blank. Each page spread has doubled card-stock paper, yet not all of them unfold. It seems like a horrible use of expense and paper.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What beautiful, vibrant illustrations and use of embossing! An interesting allegory on growing up, starting as a curious child, becoming a more aware adult, experiencing community and hardships, and the inevitability of aging and death--but ending gently with the cycle back to new life.

In my library it's cataloged with the juvenile books, but it can easily be for adults as well.

[Larissa Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a gorgeous book with wonderful illustrations and embossed and die-cut pages. It's a tactile pleasure to read and really cannot be produced in digital format. I wouldn't classify it is a children's book, it's more of an art book that can be appreciated by children. Lovely, poetic, and mysterious.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book with a very interactive format. I read it through thinking it was just a beautiful book about nature and getting outside and whatnot until near the end when I realized it's actually all a metaphor for life. So I read it through again with that in mind, and it was even better!

[cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truthfully, the most beautiful book (children's or no) that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The illustrations are stunning, and the imprints and cutouts create a level of detail that can't go unnoticed. The essence of this book melancholic yet hopeful at the same time--this is a story everyone needs to experience at least once in their life.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took my breath away with both it's beautiful illustrations, paper cuts, etc...and it's philosophical story line. All ages would love this story book, littles one on one with an adult. There's lots to discuss with this one. Gorgeous!

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was different! I read it after seeing it on a list of uniquely-illustrated books. So metaphor heavy.. not sure that I understood them all. Not too practical for a school library; I believe the public library copy I read was missing a jacket.